


Long Way Home

by ssatine



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Drinking, M/M, Mentions of homophobia, but its nothing too serious i promise, mentions of marijuana, the main characters don't smoke though
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-09
Updated: 2017-10-10
Packaged: 2018-11-29 08:06:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11436678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ssatine/pseuds/ssatine
Summary: Alec volunteers for his college's Foot Patrol Services.  Magnus is a bisexual man who couldn't care less about heteronormative ideals, and as a result needs a safe way to get home after evening classes.  Neither of them anticipated how much they could get to know a person from riding the bus together.Or; college AU where Magnus helps Alec go on a journey of self-discovery, and they try to find love in each other along the way.





	1. Chapter 1

Jace was the one who convinced Alec to sign up for the Foot Patrol services at college. The guy had already volunteered for the program during their first year, loved it, and managed to rally Alec into joining him for their second year. Although Alec would normally protest joining any other group or club, he figured helping college girls get home safely couldn't be too bad. And it wasn't. Most of the time, no one would actually try anything on the girls that Alec was escorting. He figured it was because once they saw his height and mass, they lost interest. The worst scenarios he ran into were usually men catcalling the girls or giving them stares that were too long and too intense. But when Alec thought about what could happen to these women if he wasn't there... It made him feel sick. He couldn't stomach how malicious and twisted some people could be. That was exactly why he had agreed to volunteer with the Foot Patrol Services; he cared about helping people.

So, four weeks into the first term, Alec arrived to the Foot Patrol Headquarters for his Thursday night shift.

"You're late."

Alec sighed at the sound of Jace's voice. "No, I'm not."

"No, you're not. But I was bored, so you should have been here sooner." Jace flashed a cheeky smile as leaned back in his desk chair.

"Don't you have like, work to do?" Much to Alec's demise, Jace had been promoted from a regular patrol volunteer to a dispatcher. That meant he was Alec's superior. And _that_ meant that it gave him many more opportunities to annoy Alec; opportunities which he never missed out on.

"Is that a hint of jealousy I detect, dear Alec?" Jace sucked his index into his mouth and then stuck it out in the air, making it look as though he was checking the direction of the wind (which really didn't relate to his joke). "Green isn't your colour."

Alec rolled his eyes. He often wondered how he and Jace had managed a friendship that had begun in their childhood and stuck with them into adulthood. A miracle, really. And a testament to Alec's strong-willed character.

The sound of the door opening brought Alec back to attention. His attention was quickly swayed again, however, once he saw the man standing there. He was a fit and tan East Asian man, with perfectly coiffed hair. His clothes fit him in the most flattering way, and his nails were accented with black polish. What stuck out the most to Alec, though, were his eyes. They were a warm, dark brown colour, highlighted by the black eyeliner and gold glitter he wore around them. All in all, he was one of the most beautiful men Alec had ever seen. He had to stop himself from gawking.

Snapping out of his daze, Alec finally asked, "can I help you?"

The man walked towards him, and Alec was enraptured by the way the man carried himself. He didn't just walk, he swayed, as though he was wading through invisible water. "Why yes, in fact." God, his voice was like velvet. "I was hoping one of you lovely gentlemen could escort me home."

It wasn't often a man took advantage of their services. Whether it be because of men's (detrimental) pride or the sad reality that women were at a higher risk of danger, most of their clients were women. In fact, Alec had never escorted a man before. He wondered why this man came to see them. Judging from his appearance and the way he carried himself, Alec assumed that the guy was probably as gay as he was. If that was the case, he had _one_ idea as to why the man wished to be escorted home by one of these "lovely gentlemen." That being said, Alec wasn't about to complain.

After disclosing to him the limits of the Foot Patrol services, Alec went to grab his bright yellow vest from behind the desk. As he did so, Jace leaned in to whisper, "if you want, I can cover your shift for the rest of the night." He winced at Alec, tilting his head towards their client to make sure that what he was implying was clear.

"Shut up." Alec made sure to "accidentally" slap his vest in Jace's face on his way out.

Alec held up his vest to the client. "These are the patrol vests. We're forced to carry them, but if you want, I can just put it in my backpack instead of actually wear it. Just to keep it casual. Or not. Totally up to you."

The man chuckled. "Pray keep it in the bag. It's totally tacky."

And with that, they made their way out.

The walk to the bus was mostly silent, and once they were seated Alec decided he should probably introduce himself.

"I'm Alec, by the way."

The man smiled at him. "Charming name. Mine's Magnus."

Alec nodded and looked away. Usually, he didn't really make conversation with clients; being social wasn't exactly his strong-suit which, _whatever_ , his job wasn't to entertain. But this guy... this _Magnus_... Alec was interested in getting to know.

"So... what are you studying?" Easiest go-to ice breaker for college students.

"Chemistry." Alec must have made a face that exposed his horror, because Magnus laughed at him. "It's not that bad, truly. I love chemistry... it makes me feel like I can do magic."

Alec wished he could relate, but he was completely poor when it came to that sort of thing. "That's impressive. I gave up on all that math and science stuff after grade 11."

"And I don't blame you. It's not for everyone." From anyone else, Alec would have found those words condescending. Surprisingly, though, he saw no sign of insincerity in Magnus' eyes. "So what _is_ for you?"

"Political science."

Magnus gasped, slightly exaggerated. "Oh my. Tell me, am I sitting next to our future president?"

Alec almost blushed. "Maybe... Probably not. I mean, maybe not president, but something. I want to be leader. I want... to make a difference."

"I respect that." Magnus gave Alec a once-over.  "And by the _looks_ of you, Mr. Trudeau might have some competition."

Alec chuckled at that, and he was _definitely_ blushing now. "Maybe. But I'm not planning on just being a pretty face."

"Ouch," Magnus responded with feigned offence.

"What about you? Any plans for after college?"

Magnus shrugged. "Not particularly, no. I figure I'll just see where fate takes me."

Alec nodded. "Yeah. 'Guess that's what we all have to do."

"Precisely. There's no use in putting ourselves in boxes; the future is unpredictable. Today, I love chemistry. Tomorrow? Who knows. Maybe you'll have yourself a rival, Mr. President." Magnus flashed him a smirk.

On one hand, Magnus sounded like every other pretentious character Alec had ever met, but on the other hand, Alec actually _believed_ this one. "I think we'd make a better team than rivals."

Magnus' eyes narrowed inquisitively. "Maybe so."

It wasn't much longer until they arrived at Magnus' bus stop, and his departure left Alec feeling rather empty. It reminded him of the feeling he got when he was sure he had forgotten something, but didn't actually know what. It was strange, and, well, _Magnus_ was strange. That being said, maybe Alec liked strange.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is my very first contribution to this fandom, yay! I already have a few chapters written, so I'll probably start a schedule where I post chapters once or twice a week. We'll see!
> 
> P.S: If ever you're thinking Alec sounds rather ignorant, don't worry; he's going to be doing a lot of learning in this story.


	2. Chapter 2

"Team projects suck major dick. I got put in a group with _six_ people, and this one guy, _Raphael_ , suddenly decided that he's the boss. No, more like a dictator. He's deciding everything for the project, without even asking us!"

Alec's group of friends didn't often have time to meet up all together, what with conflicting class schedules and jobs. But, once in a while, they managed to meet together for dinner in between other obligations. At this moment, Simon was complaining, which wasn't unusual.

"Are his ideas bad?" Clary, Simon's best friend (and obvious crush, though he would never admit it), asked.

Simon faltered. "Well they- no."

Clary sighed defeatedly.

" _Ok_ , but that's not the point! The point is that-"

"That you let him walk all over you?" Jace cut in.

"Exactly!" Simon exclaimed, before his face fell as he realized what he had agreed to. "Wait, no. Not that. _He_ walks all over _us_. I don't _let_ him walk all over me."

Everyone stared at Simon in silence. Clary rubbed his arm as if to say, "there, there."

Pretending he hadn't heard a word Simon said, Alec turned to Lydia, "could you send me your notes for tomorrow's lecture? I won't be there." Lydia was another political science student he had met during his first year. She was an extremely driven, independent, and responsible student whom Alec had reached out to for help more times than he cared to admit. She had also been kind enough to play Alec's beard when his mother started getting too suspicious about the fact that her son had never brought a girl home.  Because, yeah, Alec was "out" to his friends, but his _mother_? That was a whole different story.  Not only did Alec have a lot of respect for her, but he was very grateful for her too.

"Why, did you actually get a date with that guy?" Jace cut in, _again_.

Lydia looked up at Alec, eyes gleaming. "There's a guy?"

Alec's brows furrowed. "There's no guy. What guy?"

"You know," Jace continued. "The guy from the other night. The one from Foot Patrol."

"Who from Foot Patrol? Raj?" Clary asked, looking just as excited as Lydia.

"God, no." Raj was handsome, sure, but he was Alec's _friend_. He would never be attracted to him like that.

"No, he doesn't work there," Jace clarified. "He's just some guy who came to get a walk, and Alec was checkinghim out."

"I was not." Alec definitely _had_ been checking him out.

"Wait, men get walks from the Foot Patrol too?" Simon asked, looking genuinely confused.

"The service is available to everyone," Alec answered.

"But why?" Simon continued. "I mean, what do they even need it for?"

"I can think of one reason the guy wanted Alec to take him home." Jace winked at Alec, and Alec suddenly couldn't remember why they were best friends.

"Do you actually have a date with him?" Clary pressed, completely dismissing Jace and Simon's exchange.

"I- no! No, we didn't even- it's not like that!" Alec was desperately trying not to get flustered, but his friends talking about his love life (or lack there of) always got to him. He just didn't like talking about this kind of stuff. "I have an exam after tomorrow, so I'm going to stay home tomorrow and study. I don't have a date."

"But was he cute?" Clary insisted, as though Alec's words had gone through one of her ears and then right out the other.

"I- he wasn't bad looking, I guess." Alec tried to look anywhere other than the table he was sitting at.

Clary gasped. "Well did you at least get his number?"

"No! Why would I?"

"Because you said he wasn't bad looking, which, in _your_ vocabulary, means you thought he was cute!"

"Who decided that?"

"Did you at least find out anything about him?" Lydia inquired.

Alec sighed. "His name is Magnus. He's in the chemistry program."

"Wait, you _actually_ talked to him?" Jace looked stunned. "Wow, you're definitely into him then."

"I'm not!  I was just being polite." Was no one listening to Alec?

"Chemistry? He's smart, you should definitely go for him." Clary stated, and Alec came to the conclusion that _yes_ , no one was listening to him.

"I'm not-" Alec took a deep breath, calming himself down. He didn't have the patience for this. "Ok, even if I was interested, which I'm _not_ , I probably won't ever see him again. So there's no point in discussing this. "

Lydia shrugged, with a smirk that was much more mischievous than Alec appreciated. "You never know. Fate has a funny way of working."

Alec stared at her blankly. "Will you send me the notes?"

"I always do, Lightwood."

As Alec spent the rest of his night thinking about Magnus, the cute chemistry student he would probably never see again, and he blamed it entirely on his friends.

  
***

In retrospect, Alec should have guessed that he might be seeing Magnus again at his next Thursday shift.

From the time Magus walked in, to when they left, Jace kept shooting Alec so many suggestive looks that Alec was about ready to call off their friendship for good. He only hoped Magnus hadn't seen any of them, God forbid.

As soon as they sat on the bus, Magnus' face twisted in disgust. "God, I hate the smell of public buses. Weed, sweat, and humidity isn't a good mix."

Alec chuckled. "Tell me about it."

"Taking the bus late at night isn't ideal, but what can you do when you're stuck with a 7-10 class?"

"Mm. I had a 7-10 class last year; never again."

"You know, I don't mind them so much. I'm not a morning person, you see, so afternoon and evening classes suit me quite well. But getting home late when you don't have a car is a challenge. Not to mention, my girlfriend hates it."

_Girlfriend?_ "Girlfriend?" The word slipped from his mouth before he could stop himself.

Magnus looked at him with a hint of amusement. "Yes, girlfriend. Is something wrong?"

No, Alec thought to himself, there wasn't anything wrong with it. Why would there be? And why did the news make Alec feel so disappointed? He _couldn't_ have feelings for Magnus, he just met the guy. "No, I just-"

"Thought I was gay?"

Alec's mouth fell agape. "I-"

"It's okay, most people do." Magnus actually seemed genuinely unaffected. "I mean, I know how I _look_ , and I know what most people think of it.  And, to be fair, I _am_ bisexual. So you weren't far off."

Alec was silent for a moment, letting Magnus' words sink in.  He had always thought dressing in ways that were deemed feminine was only a thing gay men did, which he suddenly realized was totally ignorant of him.  He felt rather sheepish.

Apparently, though, Alec's silence went on for too long and Magnus' started to look concerned. "I'm sorry, is this... are you not... I didn't think it would be a problem that I'm not straight, I'm sorry if it is-"

"No!" Oh, _god_ no. "No, no, it isn't a problem at all. Sorry, I was just..." Alec looked at the way Magnus suddenly seemed so weary of him, how the man had carefully inched away from him, and it made his heart sink. "It's no problem at all. Magnus, _I'm_ gay. Trust me, it's okay."

The wave of relief that washed over Magnus' face was bittersweet to Alec. Great, he was comfortable again. But the fact that he had gotten so panic-stricken... Alec hated that. But in the blink of an eye, Magnus had returned to his usual nonchalant expression. "Oh. I knew there was something I liked about you."

Alec snickered, but it was half-hearted. He felt bad for having assumed Magnus' sexuality, and for accidentally giving him a scare. He hoped he hadn't pushed the man away.

"So, 'Alec'... is that short for something?" The question was so completely unrelated, it took Alec a moment to realized Magnus was asking him about his name.

"Oh, uh, yeah. Alexander. But everyone calls me Alec."

"Alexander." Magnus hummed, obviously pleased. The strangest thing was, Alec _hated_  whenever anyone called him by his real name. But, for some reason, he loved the sound of it coming from Magnus.

And that was the moment Alec realized he had a problem.


	3. Chapter 3

Alec really, really, _really_ hated parties.

Really.

They just weren't for him. They were too loud, too crowded, too long... The list went on. But, if Alec was anything, it was a loyal friend. So when his friends begged him to tag along, how could he possibly refuse?

Well, Alec didn't know how he could have refused, but it was ten minutes into the party and he wished he had. To be fair, it wasn't the _worst_ party Alec had ever been forced to attend. In fact, it wasn't that bad. There were just fifty or so college students stuffed into this fairly large house. Regardless, Alec still wasn't the most social person alive. He spent most of his time following Jace around like a puppy. This was Jace's element; not his own.

Honestly, he wasn't really sure why his friends were there anyway. The guy throwing the party was the same guy Simon had been complaining about, so Alec didn't really understand why they had to go. Simon had said something along the lines of "keep your friends close and your enemies closer,” but Alec wasn't quite so sure why that meant _he_ had to be involved.

Alec was considering slipping out, until he heard one word that made him freeze in his steps.

"Alexander."

Alec knew that voice. When he turned to see him, it took all of Alec's self-control not to let his jaw drop. Magnus always looked good (well, he did the two times Alec had seen him), but that night he looked drop dead _stunning_.  His eyes were lined sharply with deep black eyeliner, and Alec felt as though his eyes were piercing right through his own. His hair was disheveled, but in a way that Alec knew Magnus had spent a while in front of a mirror fixing it just so. The shirt he wore was a maroon, satin dress shirt that was tucked into the tightest black leather pants Alec had ever seen.

Fuck.

"Fancy seeing you here," the man continued, with a smirk tugging at his glossy lips. Alec tried to convince himself that Magnus hadn't notice him checking him out.

"Likewise."

"You know Raphael?"

_Raphael?_ "Who?"

Magnus chuckled. "The man who threw this party. I haven't caught you trespassing, have I Alexander?"

"Oh! Shit, yeah, Raphael. My bad. No, I don't know him. But I'm friends with a guy who knows him so..." Alec shrugged. “Here I am.”

"I’m glad.”

Alec tried not to smile too much.

At that moment, Jace decided to reappear, holding two beers and pointing one at Magnus. “Oh, hey, it’s you!”

“It’s me!” Magnus repeated, looking rather bemused. “So is the whole Foot Patrol Squad attending this party?”

“No, just the handsome ones. And Alec.”

Alec glared at Jace jokingly. “Funny.” He reached out for one of the beers. “Thanks for the drink.”

Jace pulled back. “Wow, these are both mine. There’s plenty in the kitchen if you want some”

“Alec!” Ah, there was Clary. “I’ve been trying to find you, why didn’t you-“ she stopped herself short when she finally caught up with the group and noticed the outsider. Obviously, she liked what she saw. “Who’s this?”

Before Alec could say anything, Jace took it upon himself to handle introductions. “This is Magnus, the guy I was telling you about.”

Magnus raised an eyebrow at Alec. “I’ve been the topic of conversation?” He seemed almost flattered, but Alec felt his own cheeks heating up in humiliation.

“Oh, Magnus!” Clary had quickly caught on, and was giving Alec a not-so-subtle look. He tried to ignore her.

“Magnus?” Simon wasn’t far behind Clary (obviously), and he wasn’t catching on quite as quickly.

“This is Simon, the friend I was telling you about.” Alec exclaimed suddenly, eager to change the topic. “He knows Raphael.”

“Is that so?” Alec knew Magnus hadn’t forgotten the exchange that just happened, but he was at least gracious enough to pretend that he did. Alec appreciated that. “How do you know Raphael?”

“He’s in my accounting class, we were put in a group together. What about you?”

“Raphael is a very close friend of mine. Actually, my girlfriend is the one who introduced me to him.”

“Talking about me, babe?”

Alec felt his blood run cold.

The woman who had spoken draped herself over Magnus. She was beautiful, in every conventional way. Alec paid no attention to the way his friends were looking at him.

“Camille, there you are.” Magnus turned to give her a kiss.

Another man joined them, along with Camille. “Simon, I’m glad you could come.”

Simon responded with a grin that was far too strained to be sincere. Alec guessed that the man was Raphael.

“Who’s Simon?” Camille asked, eyeing Simon curiously.

“He’s from one of my classes. ‘Thought inviting him here would be a good way for us to get to know each other.”

“You always have such good ideas, Raphael.” Her gaze remained stuck on Simon.

There was an awkward moment of silence before everyone broke off to go on their own. Alec found himself following Jace again, and refused to acknowledge the way Clary kept staring at him. Thankfully, though, none of his friends actually brought it up at all that night. They just kept offering him more beers and, although he wasn’t much of a drinker usually, he accepted most of them. Which he would probably regret later, sure. Alec could not hold his alcohol well . But he didn’t care. He felt… _low_. And he had no reason to. He had nothing with Magnus. They had taken the bus together a couple times, that was it, and that was nothing. Sure, he was attracted to Magnus, but he was attracted to a lot of men.

_But Magnus is different_ , Alec thought.

  
***

As soon as Magnus showed up for his walk, Alec knew something was wrong with him

He carried himself differently; instead of his usual elegant stride, he slouched in a way that made his shoulders look heavy. His eyeliner looked smudged, which made Alec think he must have been crying. It made Alec’s heart ache. When their eyes met, though, Magnus plastered on a smile and pretended that he was okay. He couldn’t keep it up very long, though, because as they were walking towards the bus, Alec noticed Magnus’ eyes getting shinier and shinier. Once they sat down, Magnus made a point to look away. Alec wanted go ask him what was wrong, but he didn’t want to pry or make him uncomfortable, so he kept quiet.

They sat in silence for a long while.

“Are you from around here, Alexander?”

Alec was caught off guard by the question. He figured Magnus wanted to get his mind off of whatever was going on, and Alec respected that. “Yeah. I still live with my mom and my siblings in the east end, actually. What about you?”

Magnus nodded. His eyes had dried off, but they were still red rimmed. Alec thought he looked exhausted. “Me too. I grew up with my mother here, and now I share my apartment with a friend.”

“Oh, that’s nice. You’re lucky. I can’t wait to live on my own, too.“

Magnus snickered. “I wouldn’t call myself lucky. On the contrary, I rather envy _you_. Do you get along well with your mother?”

“I mean, yeah. We have our moments, but I love her.”

“That’s good.” Magnus paused. “That’s really good. I used to get along well with my mother, too.”

“What happened?”

“I came out.” Magnus smiled lifelessly. “She didn’t like that.”

Alec felt his stomach turn. This topic hit close to home. “Did she kick you out?”

“Not exactly…. When I first told her, she brushed it off. She figured, or hoped, that I was just going through a phase. But I insisted it was more than that, so we started fighting a lot. Before anything got worse, we mutually decided it would be best if I moved out.”

Alec let Magnus’ words sink in. He found it disgusting how some parents refused to support their children, and he hated how Magnus had experienced that. And, although he hated to think about it, it reminded him of the fact that the same thing could happen to _himself_. The thought made him nauseous.

“But you’re right, living without parents certainly has its _perks_.” Magnus winced at Alec suggestively.

Alec knew Magnus was trying to change the subject to something more light-hearted, and although Alec wanted to know more, he understood. He rolled his eyes at Magnus’ innuendo, hoping Magnus couldn’t see him blush.

“By that I mean, of course, that I can have nachos for breakfast whenever I want.”

Alec chortled. Okay, that was a _very_ cheesy joke, but Alec couldn’t help also finding it _very_ cute. “I wouldn’t mind that.”

“You should come over some time, then. I can make you as many nachos as you’d like. And also, as many cocktails as you’d like!”

“Cocktails for breakfast?”

“Like I said, living without parents has its perks.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! It's been a while since I've updated this fic. Sorry for the hiatus! College started again and I got a new job, so things got a bit hectic. But I've suddenly gotten another burst of inspiration for this story, so hopefully I'll be able to start posting at a more reasonable pace. I'm posting two chapters right now as an apology for the long wait.
> 
> Also, I'd like to thank you guys for the comments and kudos you've left me. It's extremely encouraging! :)

Alec had many things in his life to be grateful for, one of them being that he actually had a pretty damn great relationship with his sister. Sure, they had normal sibling quarrels, and hadn’t been _quite_ so amicable as children, but they loved each other and always sought for each other’s best interest. Overall, they made a pretty decent duo.

“College is literally _so_ easy, I don’t know why everyone made it seem like it would be so difficult,” Izzy mused as she took a bite from her burger. They were having lunch at their favourite local diner, one they had been going to for years. The food wasn’t even that good, but they had grown a familiar kind of love for it.

“Yeah, just wait ‘till you get to second year.” Alec said.

“Well you don’t seem to be doing too bad.” Izzy suddenly smirked, and Alec instantly knew that he wouldn’t like whatever she was about to say. “Speaking of which, any news from that guy?”

Yup, he was right. “What guy?”

Izzy rolled her eyes. “Don’t pretend you don’t know who I’m talking about.”

“How do you even know about him?”

She smiled. “I know everything.”

“Jace told you?”

“Exactly. Answer my question.”

“I mean, we just talk whenever we take the bus together.”

“So you _are_ still talking to him! That’s so exciting. Tell me more. What’s he like? Is he funny? Is he polite?”

“Is he single? Because the answer to that is no.”

Izzy’s face deflated. “What? Jace didn’t tell me that part.”

“That’s because Jace only hears what he wants to hear.”

“Well, that’s too bad. I’m sorry, big brother.”

Alec looked around in confusion. “Why?” He had never told Izzy, nor anyone else, that he had feelings for Magnus, because he didn’t _have_ any. Or, at least, he didn’t believe he _could_ have any feelings for him.  Not yet. They barely knew each other.

“Because you’re obviously into him.”

“No I’m not.”

Izzy glared at him.

“I’m not! Why is everyone so hooked on this guy? I’ve only talked to him a couple times; there’s plenty of other guys I could talk to a couple times.”

“Yeah, except that you don’t.”

Alec froze. He wanted to argue, but he couldn’t. Isabelle was right. He never talked to other guys, not to mention he had no idea which ones were even gay. But he knew Magnus was bisexual, and Alec did talk to him, and he actually _liked_ talking to him, and he definitely liked  _looking_ at him…. Magnus could have been one of his only shots at a real relationship.

He sighed in defeat. “Well, it doesn’t matter. He has a girlfriend, so I don’t have a chance anyway.”

“Girlfriend? He’s straight?”

“No, he’s bi.”

"Oh, then you still have a chance!”

“What?”

“Let’s be honest, they’ll break up eventually. Relationships don’t last forever.”

“Always a romantic, you are.”

Izzy shrugged. “I _am_ a romantic, but I’m also a realist. Odds are they won’t follow each other into their graves.”

“So you’re saying you want me to keep him around in the hopes that they break up before we die, and then I’ll get my chance.”

“Yes, Alec, that’s what I want.” Izzy threw a french fry at him. Alec picked it up and ate it. “ _No_ , smartass, I’m just saying that dating - what’s his name?”

“Magnus.”

“That dating Magnus one day isn’t completely out of the question. You guys just met. Get to know him. Become friends. And in the future, who knows; maybe you could become something more.”

Alec considered what she said. _Yeah_ , he thought, _I could do that_. He wasn’t sure just how _into_ Magnus he was yet, but he did know that he liked talking to the guy. It couldn’t hurt to just be his friend.

Yeah, he could do that.

***

Another Thursday night rolled around, and Alec would have been lying if he said he wasn’t happy to see Magnus again.

“So,” Magnus started, turning to face Alec as they sat in the bus. “Big game coming up.”

Alec stared at him blankly. “What?”

“The football game. Our school’s football game is this weekend.” Magnus stared at him expectantly. “Not into football?”

“Um,” Alec shrugged, suddenly feeling embarrassed that he didn’t know what Magnus was talking about. “Not really, no. I’m not big on sports, actually.”

“Ah, I see. I just assumed, what with your, um, _muscles_ , and everything…” Magnus gave him a once-over. “I assumed you were a sports guy. But then, you know what they say about assuming.”

Alec was suddenly reminded of how he had so ignorantly _assumed_ Magnus’ sexuality just because of how he dressed and thought that, yeah, he definitely made an ass out of himself that time. “What about you? Are you going?”

“To the game? No. It’s not my thing, either. I just know about it because some of my friends are going. I refused to join them, though.” Magnus cracked a smirk. “At least with soccer games or basketball games you get some eye candy. Football games, though? The horrendously huge shoulder pads and helmets hide everything.”

Alec blushed. “I don’t think Camille would be too happy to hear you say that.”

And just like that, it was as if a switch had been triggered. Magnus’ face instantly dropped, his eyes turned cold, and his shoulders stiffened. He quickly forced his lips into a tight smile that was anything but genuine. “I wouldn’t worry too much about Camille’s opinion, seeing as we’re not together anymore.”

The news hit Alec like a ton of bricks. He felt a cocktail of emotions; surprise, excitement and curiosity, but they were all overshadowed by the overwhelming _empathy_ he felt for Magnus. “Oh. I’m- I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be. I’m better off,” Magnus said in a voice that was far from convincing.

Alec observed Magnus. He looked so small, haunched over himself like he was trying to disappear. Alec wished there was something more he could do; hug him, hold his hand, _something_ … But they were still just acquaintances, and the last thing Alec wanted was to make Magnus uncomfortable. He cleared his throat, and then tried asking in a way that didn’t sound forced, “do you want to talk about it?”

Magnus chuckled. “You really don’t have to do that.”

“I mean it,” Alec said, and he _did_ mean it. “You… If you need to talk about it, I’ll listen.” Alec gestured to the space around them. “I’m not exactly busy right now.”

Magnus laughed again, and the sound sent butterflies straight to Alec’s stomach. “You’re a curious one, Alexander.”

Alec just shrugged.

Magnus stared at him, his eyes narrowed, as though he was searching for something. Eventually, he said, “thank you for the offer, I appreciate it. Maybe I’ll take you up on it one day.”

Alec smiled. “One day” promised that they would continue seeing each other, and he liked the sound of that.

“But until then, some of my good friends are coming to my place this weekend after the football game. I wouldn’t call it a party, more like a low-key get together. If you’re interested, I think you should join us.”

As thrilled as Alec felt that Magnus was asking him to do something outside of their Thursday nights bus rendezvous, he stilled squirmed at the idea of anything even close to a party. Whatever Magnus wanted to call it, it would still be a bunch of people Alec didn’t know. It was completely out of his comfort zone. “I don’t know, I don’t want to to intrude-“

“Intrude? I’m the host, and I'm inviting you. That’s anything _but_ intruding.” Magnus smiled softly at Alec. “It’s a small group, and they're all extremely welcoming, I promise. And if you get uncomfortable, I’ll stay by your side until the end of the night if you’d like, or you could always just leave as you wish.”

Something about those words made Alec look at Magnus with so much fondness. Usually, people mocked him for not being extroverted enough or not being much of party animal, as every college boy should be. Magnus, though, made him feel like it was completely normal.

“But you don’t have to of course, I just wanted to invite you and let you know your welcome and-“

“I’ll go.”

Magnus looked at him with an expression that looked like a mixture of surprise and relief. “Great, wonderful, I- I’m happy you’ll be there.” He grinned. “So could I get your number?”

Alec blinked. “Sorry?”

“Your number? So I can text you the time and address.”

“Oh! Yeah, here.” Alec pulled out his phone, trying to hide his blush as best as possible. He wasn’t exactly used to cute boys asking him for his numbers.

And as Alec handed his phone over to Magnus, a wonderful thought occurred to him; a cute boy had just asked him for his number. This cute boy was (newly) single, and had just invited him over to his place.

Overall, Alec considered that a pretty good Thursday night.


	5. Chapter 5

 

It was late, nearly 10 PM, and Alec was standing outside of a townhouse triple checking if he got the right address. He was pretty sure he read the numbers correctly, but the last thing he wanted was to knock on the wrong door. Then again, maybe he was just getting cold feet about attending this party (or whatever Magnus wanted to call it) and was trying to put it off as long as possible. But he had been standing outside for around five minutes, staring at his phone and then at the address on the door and then back at his phone, and he prayed to God no one could see him. He must have looked like an idiot, standing outside for far too long in the chilly weather. At least he had been smart enough to wear his jacket, he thought. It was a nice leather, too.

Wait.

Oh God, he wore his leather jacket. Was that pretentious? He was about to make his first impression with Magnus’ friends, the last thing he wanted was to look like he was trying too hard. Alec considered taking the jacket off before going in. No, that would be stupid, because then he would look as if he had been deliberately freezing outside instead of wearing the perfectly good jacket he held in his hands.  That would look _way_ more pretentious.  The jacket would have to stay on. And he would have to go in. _Now_ , he thought.

Without a second thought, he stuffed his phone in his pocket and knocked on the door.

It took only a short moment for the door to open, revealing Magnus, who looked dazzling as always. Alec’s nerves seemed to calm almost instantly, and he wondered why he had wasted so much time outside when he could have been spending it with Magnus. “Hey.”

Magnus smiled at him, looking so very excited. “Alexander! You made it.”

“I did.”

“I’m so glad.” Magnus smiled at him for a moment longer. “Come in, you must be freezing. Would you like me to take your jacket?”

Alec stepped in. “Uh, yeah, sure, thanks.” He slipped it off and handed it over to Magnus.

“‘Looks fabulous on you, though. Great fit. And a fantastic leather.”

Alec held back a grin, and then decided to take a quick look around. The place was small enough and dimly lit, giving it a rather cozy ambience. There was some R&B music playing faintly, and smoke engulfed the space in a thin haze. The smell of weed was somewhat masked by the smell of incense, which wasn’t a combination that Alec was especially fond of, but he could live with it.  What actually made him uneasy, though, was how everyone in the room was staring at him. There was only about 10 or so people, and they looked at him kindly, but Alec hated being the centre of attention nevertheless.

“Everyone,” Magnus called out. “This is a new friend of mine, Alec.”

Alec’s heart warmed at the word ‘friend’. He waved shyly at everyone. “Hey.”

They all waved back at him with welcoming smiles, saying a mix of “hi” an “hey”, and then that was that. They returned to their conversations, and Alec’s muscles loosened. This wasn’t so bad.

“Do you smoke?”

Alec turned to Magnus, and it took him a second to realize what he was talking about. “Oh, uh, no.” He refrained from mentioning that he had never tried.

Magnus turned and started walking, and Alec was quick to follow. “Neither do I. Tried it a couple times, and it’s not for me. I’m not a fan of the smell, either, which is why I try to hide it with incense. It doesn’t help much, but at least my place doesn’t smell _just_  of weed.” He stopped walking once he got behind what looked like a makeshift bar. It was a long table covered in various liquors and glasses, and there were some coolers stored on the ground. “So what _do_ you like?”

“Uh, beer?”

Magnus looked rather dubious. “I always find it hard to believe people actually _enjoy_ the taste of beer.”

“Yeah, me too, actually. I don’t drink much, but whenever I do I just choose beer. ‘Hate the taste, but it’s not like I drink for the flavour.”

“Ah, my poor Alexander, how you’ve been missing out. Drinking _for_ the flavour is half the fun. The affect alcohol has on a person is greatly appreciated, of course, but I consider it the cherry on top. So tell me, do you prefer sweet or savoury?”

“Um, I don’t know. Sweet?”

“Really? I’m more of a savoury kind of guy myself; a drink too sweet makes my head ache. But I know just the drink for you. Take a seat, it’ll only take a moment.”

Alec propped himself up on one of the stools in front of the bar, and watched as Magnus rolled his sleeves up and got to work. His eyebrows were furrowed in concentration, but he handled the liquors with such ease, as if it was muscle memory. Alec couldn’t help but think it looked pretty hot.

Once Magnus finished, he handed Alec his drink. It was a rich red colour in a martini glass that was lined with what Alec guessed was sugar. He took a sip and yes, it was sugar, and fuck, it was good. “Wow. That’s amazing.”

“It’s a candy appletini. A bit too sweet for my taste buds, but I know people with a sweet tooth love it.” Magnus raised his own drink, what looked like a regular martini, to his lips and Alec watched the way his Adam’s apple bobbed as he drank.

“So how did you learn to do this?”

“Mix drinks? I’ve been working as a bartender since my first year of college, so now it’s become second nature.”

Alec raised his eyebrows. “Oh, that’s cool. What’s it like?”

“Stressful, at times, but I love it overall. You meet all kinds of interesting people, especially where I work. In fact, it’s where I met all the people here tonight.”

“All of them? Where do you work?”

“It’s called 'The Downworld,’ it’s a gay bar not too far from here. Have you ever been?”

Alec shook his head. “No. Never been to a gay bar.”

Magnus’ eyes widened. “ _Never?_ ”

Alec's cheeks suddenly felt warm.  Oh, he didn't realize that would be weird to Magnus.  

Magnus’ eyes softened. “Well you should definitely come check it out with me, one day. I’ll show you a good time, I promise.”

Alec blushed at Magnus’ words. But then, something occurred to him. “So everyone here is gay?”

“Gay. Lesbian. Bisexual. Trans. The whole L, G, B and the T. And then some.”

Alec looked around, and suddenly he saw the attendees in a different light.  They all looked to be in good moods, smiling and laughing, drinking and smoking...  They looked so at home with each other.  And, most strikingly, they looked so... _normal_.  Well, Alec knew LGBT people were normal, of course.  But he had never actually spent any time with them.  He never had any LGBT friends, which was something he had never considered before, but as he sat in a room full of people who were just like him...  Something about it made him feel so at ease.

He took a sip of his appletini.  

"Oh!"  Magnus exclaimed suddenly.  "I just remembered I need to make a call.  Are you okay here by yourself?"

Alec nodded, although he hoped he wouldn't have to sit alone too long.

Magnus wandered off to make the call, and Alec stared into his drink, not sure what else to do.  He was about to pull his phone out when someone sat on the stool next to him.

"Alec, you were at my party right?"  It was Raphael, Simon's classmate and (supposed) enemy.

"Yeah."

"Magnus talks about you a lot."  Raphael held up a joint to Alec, offering to share.  When Alec declined, he took a drag.  "Any friend of Magnus is a friend of mine."

Magnus talked about him?  _A lot?_   Alec tried not to blush.  "Magnus said he met everyone here at a gay bar.  'The Underworld'?"

"'The Downworld.'" 

"Yeah.  You met him there too?"

"Yeah.  I was...  I was in a bad place, so Camille decided to take me out to a gay bar.  Try and cheer me up.  Magnus was working there that night, we talked, and the rest is history."

Alec cringed at the mention of the woman.  "Camille?"

Raphael chuckled.  "Yeah, that Camille.  I guess Magnus told you what happened."

"They broke up."

"Did he tell you why?"

"No."

"Then we won't talk about it."

And then there was silence.  Alec took a sip of his drink.

Eventually, Raphael spoke.  "Magnus saved my life."

Alec turned to face him completely.  "What?"

"My whole high school experience was just... It was just me, _fucking_ , hating myself.  Hating my life.  I was different from everyone else, I knew that.  I'm panromantic and asexual, you see, but when I was a kid, I was just... _different_.  I was a mistake.  My whole family was extremely Christian.  I went to church every Sunday.  I went to a Catholic school.  My religion was everything to me, and I felt like... Like I was disappointing God, you know.  How could I be a good Christian if I wasn't the kind of man God wanted me to be?  If I was a sinner?"  Raphael took another drag.  "But then I met Magnus.  He showed me that none of that bullshit changed anything about my religion... About my morals, my values...  I could still make God, and my family, proud.  He helped me see that.  He helped me find a life worth living.  I don't think I would be alive today, if it weren't for him."

Alec stared at him, his heart pounding in his chest.  He tried to digest Raphael's story, but he wasn't sure how, and it weighed heavy in his stomach.

 "Sorry if I made you uncomfortable."

"No, you didn't."

"It's just that Magnus... He's been so good to me.  He's been so good to everyone here.  And I hate how people like Camille could hurt him like that."  Raphael paused, then stared right into Alec's eyes.  "He deserves better than that."

Alec wasn't sure why Raphael was staring at him so intensely while he said that, but it made his hairs stand on end.

"Sorry about that Alexander, but I'm all yours for the rest of the night."  Magnus froze in front of the two men.  "Ah, I see you've found Raphael."

"More like _I_ found him," Raphael said. "I like him, Magnus.  Keep him around."  And with that, Raphael walked off.

Magnus rolled his eyes.  "Don't mind Raphael, he can be so dramatic.  Although I will say, the fact that he said he likes you is a pretty big deal.  You must have made a very good impression."

Alec shrugged.  "I barely said anything."

"That might be why, then.  Now, how about I introduce you to the rest of my friends?"

Alec nodded, and that marked the beginning of one of the best nights of his life.  All of Magnus' friends introduced themselves individually to Alec, and did so with unwavering kindness.  They asked him questions about himself, too, and to his surprised they seemed genuinely interested.  For once in his life, Alec didn't feel like an outsider.  He didn't feel like anything to hide, anything to hold back; he felt like he _belonged_.

The feeling was unusual, but certainly not unwelcome.  

 

***

 

Ever since Magnus' get together, Alec couldn't seem to make himself think of anything else.  He found himself missing it, all of it; being surrounded by people who saw him as one of their own, the cozy atmosphere that made it easy for him to relax and open up, and of course Magnus...  He wanted more of it.

"Did you enjoy yourself?  This past weekend, at my place."

They were sitting next to each other on the bus, as they did every Thursday, but this time Alec noticed how the distance between them had reduced.  The previous times, they had both made an effort not to let their bodies press against each other, no matter how crowded the bus was.  This time, however, their shoulders and thighs pressed against each other comfortably.  Alec relished it. "Yeah, I did, actually.  It was nice."

Magnus smiled warmly at him.  "Good.  I was worried you might have been uncomfortable."

"Me too, honestly." He hoped he didn't offend Magnus by saying that, but he felt comfortable enough to be honest.  "Parties, or not-really-parties, aren't my thing, usually.  But that was chill.  It was nice.  And your friends are nice."

"I'm glad you feel that way, because you're always welcome to join us."

Alec felt his heart swell with something like affection. 

"But, you're right, they are nice.  They're good people. They're like family to me."

"I can see that."  Alec paused, working up the courage to say, "they seem to really look up to you." 

Magnus chuckled.  "That's very flattering."

"I mean it.  They talk about you as if they trust you with their lives." 

Magnus sighed.  "I...  It's not always easy finding your place in this world, especially when you feel like everyone in it is against you.  Or, at least, that's how I felt growing up.  I never felt like I belonged anywhere.  I never had a safe space to express myself, or be who I truly am."  He shrugged.  "I wish no one else would ever feel that.  But I can't change the world, so I... I try my best to help out as many people like myself as I can.  Offer them a place where they can feel welcome, and safe.  It's not much, but it would have made every difference to me if I had something similar growing up."

Alec stared at him.  He wasn't sure if he wanted to smile or cry.  He wanted to smile, because Magnus was the most extraordinary person Alec had ever met.  He wanted to cry, because _fuck_ did it hit a nerve.  The way Magnus described his life reminded Alec exactly of how he had always felt himself.  Alec didn't know what to do, so instead he just said, "that's amazing.

Magnus laughed.  "All I've done is treat my friends the way the anyone would treat their own friends."

Alec thought about his own friends, how he would do anything to guarantee their happiness, and figured Magnus was right.   

"Why don't you come to my bar this weekend?  I'm not working Saturday night, so we could go together."

Alec tensed at the proposition.  It wasn't a date, no, but Magnus was still asking him out.  Just the thought of it made Alec excited.  "Yeah, sure, I'd love that."

Magnus smiled, almost maniacally.  "We're gonna have one Hell of a time."


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, about halfway through writing this chapter, I remembered that in the USA, the legal drinking age is actually 21 and not 19 (which happens to be Alec's age in this story). Oops! I hope you guys can forgive this mistake LMAO...

Much like parties, Alec was never the biggest fan of bars. They were always too crowded, always too hot, always too loud, and there were always too many girls trying to hit on him. He didn't resent them for it, but it did make him uncomfortable having to deal with turning down so many girls. The way he saw it, he could enjoy drinking just as much from the comfort of his own home. Not that he even enjoyed drinking that much to begin with. That being said, he didn't know what to expect from this gay bar Magnus was bringing him too. He wondered if it would be any different.

_Magnus will be there._

Yeah, Magnus would be there, and that was enough to for Alec to look forward to it.

He walked through the entrance, with uncertainty and anticipation resonating within him.  Immediately, he felt as though he had been transported into another world. Strobe lights, enhanced by smoke machines, made the room appear as if it was submerged in an ocean of colours.  Eighties' music played loud enough that Alec could feel the base pulsating in his chest. Some people were having their way on the dance floor, but most people were mingling at tables or by the bar.  What stood out the most to Alec, however, was this: women were very obviously flirting with women, and men were very obviously flirting with men. No one bat an eyelash at them. Alec felt overwhelmed.

"Alexander!"

Alec felt Magnus' arms wrap around him in a hug before he even got the chance to see him. “Hey.”

“Welcome to ‘The Downworld.’” Magnus stepped back, and Alex was immediately enraptured by the way he looked. The strobe lights danced across his visage, illuminating it in various hues of purple, pink and blue. They reflected off the glitter he wore around his eyes, accenting them even more so. His eyes seemed to almost glow. Alec thought he looked… _magical_. “What do you think? I hope it’s not too disappointing.”

Alec’s eyes didn’t stray from Magnus. “Not at all.”

“Come, I want you to meet someone.” Magnus grabbed Alec’s hand and led him toward the bar.  A woman stood behind it.  “This is Maia."

The woman looked up from the glass she was cleaning, noticed Alec, and shot him a wide smirk.  "Well, to whom do I owe the pleasure?"

"This is the new friend I told you about," Magnus answered.

Maia almost pouted.  "Oh yeah, the gay one."

"Aren't they all?"

"True enough."  Maia put down the glass she was working on and wiped her hands on her apron before extending one of them to Alec.  "Name's Maia.  I'm the token straight friend."

Alec shook her hand.  He liked her so far.

Maia turned to Magnus.  "So can I get you your usual?"

"You know me so well."

"Too well.  What about you, Alec?"

"Um."  Alec turned to look at Magnus for help; he didn't want beer, but he didn't know what else to get.

"Would you like a drink?  It's on me."  Magnus said.

"You don't have to do-"

"I insist.  If you want one, of course."

"Sure, yeah.  Thanks."  

"He'll have a cosmopolitan, then."

Maia saluted them, then got to work.

"Maia and I started working here around the same time, so it was easy for us to get to know each other," Magnus said.  "She loves me."

"You love me more," Maia interjected.

"Well, you _are_ the only person who can make a martini that's _almost_ as good as mine."

"Wrong."  Maia slid a completed martini in front of Magnus.  "I make it _better_."

"Interesting thought," Magnus said, then took a sip of his drink.  "Perhaps I just have better taste buds."

Maia stuck her tongue out at Magnus, who laughed in response. 

As they bantered, Alec couldn't help but find himself smiling; he liked this.  He liked them.

 

After Alec got his drink, and Magnus tipped Maia _very_ generously, they made their way to a nearby table.  

Magnus leaned closely to Alec, presumably to make sure he could hear him over the loud music.  "So what do you think of the place?"

Alec reciprocated the gesture, although it _was_ partially because he wanted to be as close to Magnus as possible.  "I like it, I think."

Magnus chuckled.  "You don't have to say that you like it if you don't.  I won't be offended."

"No, it's not that.  I mean, I don't know.  It's..."

"Not your thing?"

"Not my thing."

"I respect that," Magnus stated, and Alec believed him.  "A lot people don't like bars.  It's understandable, of course.  They can be... _A lot_."

"Yeah, a lot."

"But this place is like home, to me."  Magnus took a sip of his drink, eyeing the place around him as he did so.  "When I left my mom's apartment, I had close to nothing.  No belongings, no money, no future...  Or so it seemed.  I got a partial scholarship for the chemistry program at this school, which helped, but I still had no way to pay for it.  Until I found this place.  I took a year off of school so that I could work here full time and save up enough money to pay for school.  And I did.  I was able to make a life, a future for myself.  That and, as you know, I made all of my friends here.  I gained a... A support network.  A family.  This place gave me everything when I had nothing."

Alec couldn't help but stare at Magnus, which always seem to be the case, but especially so in that moment.  How could a person possibly have the strength to carry on after having everything taken away from them?  Alec wondered if he could do it.  He wasn't so sure.  "I admire you."

Magnus smiled with his eyes glued to his drink, and Alec thought that he looked almost shy.  "I'd like to know more about _you_."

Alec shrugged.  "There's not much to know."  

Magnus' eyes met his.  "I find that hard to believe, Alexander."

Except, there truly _wasn't_ that much to know.  Or at least, certainly not as much as there was to know about Magnus.  "I don't know, I have a pretty normal life.  I have a good family, good friends, and I go to a good school...  I don't know."  He felt embarrassed that he didn't have any more to share.

Magnus' eyes softened.  "And what about these good things? What's your family like?"

"Um, well, I have a sister and a brother.  My sister's just a year younger than me. She goes to our school, actually.  But my brother is still in high school.  We live with our mom."  He paused, making sure he wasn't boring Magnus too much.  To his surprise, Magnus looked completely attentive.  "My parents got divorced a couple years ago...  I don't really talk to him anymore, but Izzy tries to."

"Do you miss him?"

"Not really.  I'm not...  I'm better off without him."

"That's good, then."

Alec thought that was bizarre.  Usually, when Alec told someone he had no interest in keeping his father in his life, they thought he was in the wrong.  How could someone not want their own father in their life, after all?   _Easy_ , Alec thought.  There were some things that just couldn't be forgiven.  "Yeah, it is."

Magnus nudged him playfully.  "See, there _are_ things to know about you."

It was incredible, how Magnus made him feel.  Anyone else would have had absolutely no interest in Alec's mundane life, but Magnus made him feel like it was one worth sharing.  It made his heart swell.

"Well, how about I go get us more drinks?"

"Sure, I'll come with-"

"No!  They're on me, Alexander.  After all, I'm the one taking you out tonight, and I refuse to be anything less than a gentleman."  Magnus winced at him, then walked away before Alec could argue.

Alec rolled his eyes as he slumped back in his chair.  Magnus certainly was one Hell of a character.  

"Hey there."

It took a moment for Alec to realize that the voice was addressing him.  He looked to his left to find a very tall man smiling at him.  Alec blinked.  "Uh, hi."

"I was just walking by when I saw you and I thought you were just so handsome, I had to talk to you."

Wow.  Hold on.  A _man_ was hitting on him.  A man.  "Oh, uh, thanks."

The man chuckled.  "So what's your name?"

"Alec."

"Alec.  My name's Seth."  The man licked his lips nervously.  "So, um, could I get you a drink?"

The world around Alec seemed to slow down as he came to a sudde realization.  There was a _man_  flirting with him.  Not a woman, a man, which Alec could actually _be_  attracted to.  This guys wasn't bad looking, either.  In fact, Alec found him pretty attractive.  He seemed nice, too.  Alec could say yes.  He could say yes and make this his first time flirting with another gay man.  But as these thoughts ran through his head, his eyes strayed over to where Magnus was buying their drinks.  The words slipped from his lips before he could think any further: "Sorry, I'm with someone."

The guy's face seemed to deflate, but he offered Alec a smile as he said, "that's alright.  Have a good night, then."

As Alec watched Seth leave, he couldn't seem to make himself feel regretful.  Sure, the guy seemed decent, and maybe they could have had something nice, but...

"Not your type?"  Magnus returned with two drinks in his hands and a smirk on his face.

Alec took his drink. "Thanks.  But no, he wasn't."  He lifted the glass to his lips.

Magnus mimicked him, and said, "me neither."

Their eyes remained locked as they each took a sip.

 

***

 

"Guys, I've decided to start a band."

The gang, which at the moment consisted of Alec, Jace, Clary, Izzy and Simon, were all hanging out in the basement of Simon's house.  It was dark and fairly messy, but it had become their favourite place to chill.  There were comfortable couches, video games, and enough privacy from any parents.  It was perfect for them.

They all stared at Simon blankly.

"I'm serious!  I've gotten pretty good at playing bass, and I have some friends who can play the drums and sing...  I think we could make it work."  He strummed the bass guitar he held in his hands dramatically.  

"I think that would be super cool, Simon!"  Clary finally said, after her initial shock wore off.

"Well, you have to _be_ cool to make a band cool," Jace quipped.

Clary nudged him.  " _Jace_."

"I agree Clary, I think it's a great idea," Izzy jumped in.  She smiled slyly.  "There's nothing sexier than a guy in a band."

"Ah, just what I like to hear from my baby sister," Alec said, deadpan.

Simon grinned smugly.  "That's right, I'll be sexy." 

"That's a pipe dream."

" _Jace!_ " Clary scolded him, again.

Simon stuck his tongue at Jace, and Alec stopped himself from laughing.  He wouldn't say it, but Jace was right; Simon wasn't exactly the suavest man alive.  He couldn't quite picture him as an alluring bass player.

" _Ha-ha_ , laugh all you want Jace, but you won't be laughing once I'm the one getting all the pu-" Simon suddenly noticed the daggers that Clary's eyes were shooting at him.  "-mpkin pie... that all my fans leave me as a gift... because they love my music... and _I'll_  get to eat it all."

"Pumpkin pie?  Is that what they call pussy nowadays?"

The whole group chorused, " _JACE!_ "  

They fell into a fit of laughter, Alec included.  He felt tears pricking his eyes.

Jace, who was still catching his breath from laughing so hard, said, "actually, though, none of us have been getting any pumpkin pie lately.  I'm having the worst fucking dry spell."

"Tell me about it."  Clary sighed.

Simon added nothing, but Alec noticed him watching Clary with hopeless longing.

"That's not true!"  Izzy exclaimed.  "Not everyone has been so unlucky lately."

Alec frowned.  "Who have you been seeing?"

"Not me, idiot, _you_!"

"What?"

"You've been hanging out with that guy, Mason-"

"Magnus."

"- _Magnus_ all the time lately!"

" _Really?_ " Clary stared at Alec with excited wide eyes.

Alec rolled his eyes.  "Not all the time."

"But _sometimes_ , which is more than you can say about any other guy!"  Izzy said.

"Thanks Izzy, for reminding me of that."

"Didn't he take you to a bar the other night?"  Jace inquired.

"He took you to a _bar_?"  Clary's eyes got wider.  "Like, just the two of you?"

"Yeah," Alec answered, not thinking much of it.

"Holy shit, Alec, you went on a date with him.  And you didn't even tell us!"

"Wow, I didn't say anything because it _wasn't_ a date!"

"It was just the two of you, alone, at a bar-"

"On a Saturday night!"  Izzy added.

"-on a saturday night!" Clary's eyes were practically bulging out of her head.  "Hell, the only thing missing would be if he bought you a drink."

There was silence.

Clary and Izzy stared at Alec, probably waiting for him to contradict her.

When he never did, the two girls shouted in unison: " _He bought you a drink?_ "

Alec shrugged, and tried to stop his cheeks from getting any warmer.  "Yeah, _yes_ , he did.  He was being polite."

Everyone stared at him in discouragement.

"Bro, that's a fucking date," Jace finally said.

Wow, of all people; Jace was supposed to be on Alec's side.  "No, it wasn't.  We're just friends."

"I wish my friends paid for my drinks," Simon said.

"Didn't you say he's single now anyway, Alec?"  Izzy asked.  "That means the night could have meant something more for him."

"No, that's exactly why it _couldn't_ have meant anything more for him," Alec insisted.  "He _just_ went through a breakup, one that hurt him really badly.  He's heartbroken.  There's no way he's interested in me.  And I'm not interested in him either, actually, not in that way.  Not in the way _you_ guys want me to be.  We're _just_ friends, and I would appreciate it if you guys could respect that.   _Please_."

Only once Alec finished did he realized he had gone on a tangeant.  He hadn't meant to get so heated up, it was just so frustrating that his friends couldn't understand that there was nothing romantic between him in Magnus.  No matter what they wanted.  No matter what he wanted.

For a tense moment, everyone avoided eye contact with him, looking guilty and embarrassed.  Finally, Jace said, "sorry, bro."  The words weren't exactly sophisticated, but at least Alec knew he meant it.

Izzy and Clary shared turns apoligizing as well.  As much as Alec appreciated it, he wished he hadn't made such a scene. He hated showing his vulnerability.

The sentimentality was cut short, though, when Simon cleared his throat, gripping onto his guitar.  "Anyway, here's Wonderwall."


End file.
